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Iheartcoffee
Guest
How do you save money?
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pensmama87
Guest
My two favorite resources are:
Money Saving Mom - weekly coupon matchups, but also notifications of the best sales for clothes, shoes, baby stuff, and ways to find free entertainment. Some DIY too.
Budget Bytes - yummy, frugal meals
We went to meatless dinner two days a week. I make almost all of our food from scratch. I use Craiglist to buy furniture or other household items.
I also started couponing, which saves us a lot of money even though I don’t buy much in the way of prepared foods. If you do coupon matchups at your local Rite Aid, CVS, or Walgreens, you can get a lot of toiletries and personal hygiene items for $1 or less. I get coupons in our Sunday paper (try discountednewspapers.com for the best subscription price) and in a free neighborhood paper. My MIL also gives me her coupon inserts.
Also, if you have a an Aldi near you, I’d strongly suggest shopping there. Sometimes I can get deals better than there with coupons, but their prices are terrific. For most things they beat other discount stores.
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mommy_k
Guest
I have a little garden, and grow tomatos, stringbeans, cucumbers, basil, mint, bellpeppers and mesclun salad, raddicio, aruglua and cammolmille.
We have 2 apple trees too.
I also grow flowers for cutting and drying too. Even though we live in a surburban development I also have a hidden clothes line behind some tall cypress trees–Icall it my solar powered clothes dryer. I only use the clothes dryer for towels.
We have 2 apple trees too.
I also grow flowers for cutting and drying too. Even though we live in a surburban development I also have a hidden clothes line behind some tall cypress trees–Icall it my solar powered clothes dryer. I only use the clothes dryer for towels.
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Irishmom2
Guest
See, now I am the opposite. I will hang towels out on the clothesline and put cotton clothing in the dryer. The towels take so loooong to dry in the dryer. I just put them in for a few minutes to soften them after they are dry.
If I am feeling really inspired, I drag out a couple of drying racks, and everything goes outside in the sun.
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Irishmom2
Guest
Pensmama, I have seen the Aldi circulars while visiting my daughter. I will tell her we should try shopping there sometime!
I use coupons, try meatless dinners and pretty much cook meals from scratch. I buy value packs of meat, take it home break down into smaller packs and freeze. Sure beats having to run out to the store all the time too.
I use coupons, try meatless dinners and pretty much cook meals from scratch. I buy value packs of meat, take it home break down into smaller packs and freeze. Sure beats having to run out to the store all the time too.
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CradleJourney
Guest
I think the two best ways to save money are “to wait” and “to plan”.
Wait - try to always wait at least a day if not longer between the urge/thought to purchase something and actually doing it. I call it the Target effect - if I’m shopping at Target for “x”, I usually will see “y” and “z” and tend to think, well, I’m going to need those anyway, might as well buy them now. Before I know it, I’d go from spending $10 to $150 just on stuff that I figured it’d be easier to pick up while I was there. However, some of that stuff I wouldn’t really need (still had some at home, or it didn’t fit, etc) and some of that stuff that I did need I’d discover I could have purchased cheaper at another store or a couple days later when it’d go on sale. So now I if I am somewhere and see sheets on sale for instance, first I wait, go home, actually check to see if I really need new sheets (or are the old ones still sufficient) and look online to see what other places are selling them for if I really do need them.
Plan - It does save gas and time if you can buy what you need from where it’s cheapest all in one trip rather than running to the store three or four times a week to pick up this or that you’ve run out of (and picking up other not so necessary things at the same time).
So (being the old-school person I am), I try to carry a notepad with me, write down those urges when I’m in a store and spot something I “think” I’ll need/want, noting size and price to check later - and keep that same notepad close by me at home and write down things I’m getting low on or will need to purchase down the road when I find a good sale (like those sheets). Modernistic folks could do the same on their cell phones, I imagine
HTH
Wait - try to always wait at least a day if not longer between the urge/thought to purchase something and actually doing it. I call it the Target effect - if I’m shopping at Target for “x”, I usually will see “y” and “z” and tend to think, well, I’m going to need those anyway, might as well buy them now. Before I know it, I’d go from spending $10 to $150 just on stuff that I figured it’d be easier to pick up while I was there. However, some of that stuff I wouldn’t really need (still had some at home, or it didn’t fit, etc) and some of that stuff that I did need I’d discover I could have purchased cheaper at another store or a couple days later when it’d go on sale. So now I if I am somewhere and see sheets on sale for instance, first I wait, go home, actually check to see if I really need new sheets (or are the old ones still sufficient) and look online to see what other places are selling them for if I really do need them.
Plan - It does save gas and time if you can buy what you need from where it’s cheapest all in one trip rather than running to the store three or four times a week to pick up this or that you’ve run out of (and picking up other not so necessary things at the same time).
So (being the old-school person I am), I try to carry a notepad with me, write down those urges when I’m in a store and spot something I “think” I’ll need/want, noting size and price to check later - and keep that same notepad close by me at home and write down things I’m getting low on or will need to purchase down the road when I find a good sale (like those sheets). Modernistic folks could do the same on their cell phones, I imagine
HTH
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redbetta
Guest
My whole family is really thrifty. We have a garden and have water barrels to save water. Also, me and my Dad often walk or cycle to run errands. Also, if my parents see a fruit tree and it becomes plain that after a while that nobody is picking the fruit, they will ask the owners for permission to pick. We have successfully made several jars of apple sauce from free apples. Hope that helps.
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TheWiseMan
Guest
You could get rid of your cable. I bet you can save a couple hundred dollars if you just without it. Frankly, I don’t think there’s anything worth watching on tv nowadays, when one can go to Hulu and get the same (if not exact) results. With the rise of the internet, one can get their news than say, a television news channel.
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Sunbreak
Guest
Entertainment: get videos from the library instead of going to the movies or instead of subscribing to Netflix. Same goes for books - use the library or exchange books with friends. There are also places to join online where people swap books. Get together with friends and play cards or board games or in the daytime, go for hikes or to parks. Check local events for free events, especially in the summer. In my area, for example, the summer is full of free outdoor concerts, free movies, theatrical plays in parks and more.
Loose change: save your loose coins - they can add up.
Food: take a packed lunch to work. Buy food on sale and use coupons. Plan meals so that you can use leftovers. Make a shopping list and only buy what is on your list - no impulse buying. Eat more beans instead of meat - there are many varieties out there. Don’t eat out except for special occasions. If you feel the need to eat out for social reasons more than just the special occasion, try to get together for breakfast or lunch instead of dinner. Drink water instead of anything else and don’t get dessert. At home, make your own snacks like popcorn instead of buying packaged snacks. Grow some of your own food. Even in an apartment (as long as it’s not prohibited), it is easy to grown things in containers. (I have grown lettuce, peas, tomatoes, carrots, beets, peppers and herbs in containers.)
Clothes: Shop at the second hand stores - they sometimes get new items donated to them. Otherwise, wait for sales. Plan a basic wardrobe so that items can easily be mixed and matched instead of having orphan clothing that only matches one other item. If you can sew, consider making some of your own clothing.
Budget: Look at what you spend money on. It might sound tedious, but if you keep track of where your money goes, even for the dollar here and there snack, it gives you an idea of where you can cut back.
Phone: If you don’t have a contract you’re stuck with then look at all your options. Many people really don’t need a land line phone anymore. If you don’t use a phone that much, you can get a pay as you go phone and just buy minutes when you need them.
Internet: If you aren’t a heavy internet user, maybe you can get by with just using the internet at the library or in places that have free wifi. There’s also pay as you go wifi.
Transportation: Don’t drive somewhere that’s close enough to walk. Combine trips to do all your errands at once. Take the bus or use a bicycle. Carpool.
Housing: If you are single, consider getting a roomate. If you have a family, do you have an extra room/basement/attic you could rent out?
Trading: Do you have a service/item you could trade? This works better in a smaller community, but I have done things like traded cleaning someone’s apartment for taking art lessons from the person.
Electricity: Replace whatever lights you can with energy efficient lights. Sometimes there are programs where you can get some of these lights for free - ask your electric company. Don’t leave lights on in rooms you aren’t in. Try to minimize use of high watt appliances - some things don’t have to be ironed if they are folded carefully or taken out of the dryer right away and hung up. If you don’t have a family, you can easily handwash items instead of using the washer/dryer and get or build a rack to dry things on. (If you do have a family, it probably would be too time consuming.) Also, baking takes a lot of electricity, so if you like to bake you may want to make a big batch all at once. Use microwave, stove top or smaller appliances for other food or eat more raw food like salads.
Miscellaneous: Instead of plastic wrap for food, look in the dollar stores for elasticized plastic covers. These can be washed and re-used to cover leftovers on plates or in bowls that don’t have lids. Plastic sandwich and larger bags can also be washed and re-used (as long as what was in them before was mostly dry and not mushy). Use plastic or paper grocery store bags to line your small trash baskets instead of buying liners. Instead of buying notepads for shopping lists, phone messages and other notes to yourself, cut up those advertising letters that come in the mail and use the non-printed backside for these purposes.
Loose change: save your loose coins - they can add up.
Food: take a packed lunch to work. Buy food on sale and use coupons. Plan meals so that you can use leftovers. Make a shopping list and only buy what is on your list - no impulse buying. Eat more beans instead of meat - there are many varieties out there. Don’t eat out except for special occasions. If you feel the need to eat out for social reasons more than just the special occasion, try to get together for breakfast or lunch instead of dinner. Drink water instead of anything else and don’t get dessert. At home, make your own snacks like popcorn instead of buying packaged snacks. Grow some of your own food. Even in an apartment (as long as it’s not prohibited), it is easy to grown things in containers. (I have grown lettuce, peas, tomatoes, carrots, beets, peppers and herbs in containers.)
Clothes: Shop at the second hand stores - they sometimes get new items donated to them. Otherwise, wait for sales. Plan a basic wardrobe so that items can easily be mixed and matched instead of having orphan clothing that only matches one other item. If you can sew, consider making some of your own clothing.
Budget: Look at what you spend money on. It might sound tedious, but if you keep track of where your money goes, even for the dollar here and there snack, it gives you an idea of where you can cut back.
Phone: If you don’t have a contract you’re stuck with then look at all your options. Many people really don’t need a land line phone anymore. If you don’t use a phone that much, you can get a pay as you go phone and just buy minutes when you need them.
Internet: If you aren’t a heavy internet user, maybe you can get by with just using the internet at the library or in places that have free wifi. There’s also pay as you go wifi.
Transportation: Don’t drive somewhere that’s close enough to walk. Combine trips to do all your errands at once. Take the bus or use a bicycle. Carpool.
Housing: If you are single, consider getting a roomate. If you have a family, do you have an extra room/basement/attic you could rent out?
Trading: Do you have a service/item you could trade? This works better in a smaller community, but I have done things like traded cleaning someone’s apartment for taking art lessons from the person.
Electricity: Replace whatever lights you can with energy efficient lights. Sometimes there are programs where you can get some of these lights for free - ask your electric company. Don’t leave lights on in rooms you aren’t in. Try to minimize use of high watt appliances - some things don’t have to be ironed if they are folded carefully or taken out of the dryer right away and hung up. If you don’t have a family, you can easily handwash items instead of using the washer/dryer and get or build a rack to dry things on. (If you do have a family, it probably would be too time consuming.) Also, baking takes a lot of electricity, so if you like to bake you may want to make a big batch all at once. Use microwave, stove top or smaller appliances for other food or eat more raw food like salads.
Miscellaneous: Instead of plastic wrap for food, look in the dollar stores for elasticized plastic covers. These can be washed and re-used to cover leftovers on plates or in bowls that don’t have lids. Plastic sandwich and larger bags can also be washed and re-used (as long as what was in them before was mostly dry and not mushy). Use plastic or paper grocery store bags to line your small trash baskets instead of buying liners. Instead of buying notepads for shopping lists, phone messages and other notes to yourself, cut up those advertising letters that come in the mail and use the non-printed backside for these purposes.
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HopenHappiness
Guest
For those using coupons, if there is something you can get for free or a few pennies get it. Even if you don’t use it, you can donate it to the food pantry or if it is pet products, donate it to a pet shelter. Also some coupons you can end up getting the travel sizes for free, those are great for donating to homeless shelters. Never give up the opportunity to give to others less fortunate.
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Joy2day
Guest
Try not to drive your car and rake up the petrol costs - there must be options to take the bus/public transport. Do you need a car or can you get into a time share car arrangement? Also, always wash in cold water to save electricity. Unfortunately a social life is very expensive - try to limit outings to those which are inexpensive. The phone - have either a landline or a mobile phone - not both, and never sign up for contracts - get prepaid. Definitely Aldi. If something breaks - do you really need it? or is there a cheaper alternative somewhere that will do? Also, clothes for children (and even adults) are wonderfully found at St Vincent de Paul every now and then - people give them nearly new clothes their children have grown out of. Cut insurance premiums - do you really need them?
Do you really need air conditioning? how 'bout a rug and a hot water bottle instead? or a great woollen jumper and long underwear or a hot bath.
As for the hairdresser - women have it great if they can have long hair… short hair always needs cutting. If you’re a guy? - be trendy.
If you have old clothes/shoes you never wear - sell them!
Do your own housework - do not pay for cleaners…
Don’t waste money on pedicures/manicures.
Make sure your sewer pipes are clear and don’t tempt fate by planting near them.
If you can - do it yourself - become handy, except with electricity.
Find a really great (and cheap) electrician, carpenter, handyman (husband?), plumber, and keep them for life.
Make sure, that no matter how much money you earn, you are always saving some of it each week/fortnight/month. Easier said than done though I know.
Do you really need air conditioning? how 'bout a rug and a hot water bottle instead? or a great woollen jumper and long underwear or a hot bath.
As for the hairdresser - women have it great if they can have long hair… short hair always needs cutting. If you’re a guy? - be trendy.
If you have old clothes/shoes you never wear - sell them!
Do your own housework - do not pay for cleaners…
Don’t waste money on pedicures/manicures.
Make sure your sewer pipes are clear and don’t tempt fate by planting near them.
If you can - do it yourself - become handy, except with electricity.
Find a really great (and cheap) electrician, carpenter, handyman (husband?), plumber, and keep them for life.
Make sure, that no matter how much money you earn, you are always saving some of it each week/fortnight/month. Easier said than done though I know.
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NFPWife
Guest
There are great tips throughout the thread, these are a few of my faves. I wear my hair below my shoulders in long layers. I get it cut about 4 times a year and trim my own bangs in between cuts. I had a short cut and it needed cut every 6 weeks to look good. I also do my own color.
I do my own manis and pedis nails as well. I’ve graduated to gel polishes - I bought them and the light on eBay. They only need done every two weeks.
My great aunt always told me to live on less than you make. My dad reinforced that too. We drive used, paid for cars, we’ve lived in a small house, we didn’t remodel until we’d saved cash to pay for the remodeling, etc. We didn’t raise our lifestyle with new raises, promotions, etc. and invested that money instead. In 2008 when the market was hemorrhaging money, we didn’t panic and sell – we bought instead.
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pensmama87
Guest
Yes - haircuts definitely add up. I cut all of our family’s hair except mine. Mine is fairly short right now (just above the shoulder), but it is all the same length. I hadn’t had it cut in over a year - just got too busy with having a new baby, and then when I finally went to get it cut, I had so much I could donate to Locks of Love, which meant my haircut was free at that salon. I still gave a tip to the stylist because she did a good job, but that was a nice surprise!
I am halfway tempted to just let it all grow for a while again and then get that free haircut again once my hair is super long.
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Pax2u
Guest
We have always been thrifty, and now that we are retirement age we don’t have financial worries. Used many of the ideas posted above: lived below our income, have a smaller home that has been paid for several years now, drive used vehicle, buy some clothes at thrift store, grocery shop with a list and take coupons (and have a few meatless days each week), etc. We don’t have a problem spending money on special things we want…we just know that our credit card bill will be paid fully each month, so we take that into account. We also use a credit card that gives us cash back and use it for all our purchases…so the company actually pays us to use their card, since we pay the balance off each month.
I make my own laundry and dish soap, also. There are lots of “recipes” online, and they work just fine. A gallon of laundry detergent for probably 25 cents’ worth of ingredients. You don’t get the scent and the “sudsing action” of the purchased ones, but they work, so who cares!
I don’t have a clothesline, but do use a clothes rack to dry things on the back deck in nice weather. Got rid of our cell phones when I retired last fall. We have a landline phone right now because it’s bundled with our cable and internet. DH has a blackberry provided by his job that we use as our cell phone when on the road. Once he retires and turns in the blackberry we’ll get rid of our landline and go to a tracphone to pay as we use (which isn’t a lot…neither of us is a big “phone person.”
It’s actually fun to see what you can do to save and not really feel the pinch at all!
I make my own laundry and dish soap, also. There are lots of “recipes” online, and they work just fine. A gallon of laundry detergent for probably 25 cents’ worth of ingredients. You don’t get the scent and the “sudsing action” of the purchased ones, but they work, so who cares!
I don’t have a clothesline, but do use a clothes rack to dry things on the back deck in nice weather. Got rid of our cell phones when I retired last fall. We have a landline phone right now because it’s bundled with our cable and internet. DH has a blackberry provided by his job that we use as our cell phone when on the road. Once he retires and turns in the blackberry we’ll get rid of our landline and go to a tracphone to pay as we use (which isn’t a lot…neither of us is a big “phone person.”
It’s actually fun to see what you can do to save and not really feel the pinch at all!
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bmaj
Guest
Wow - what a great thread! Lots of terrific suggestions above. No need to ever rent a video if you have a public library nearby. You could even wait to see it on video rather than in the movies which have become so expensive. Same with books - no need to buy most since they’re usually available at the library. If it’s not in your specific one, they can usually get it for you from their linked libraries. We also collected empty deposit bottles on walks with the kids to help clean up the neighborhood and get some money at the same time - but wear gloves and wash hands after. Also try to repair vehicles or have someone else reliable do it if possible rather than buy new ones until you absolutely must - and then don’t get all the bells and whistles that add on to the cost. Try not to buy a house or car that costs more than you can really afford, and don’t rely on overtime as income. It may not always be available. If you keep track of every penny spent in a notebook for a year or more, it can really help you figure out where to save or give you encouragement on how well you’re doing. Using coupons are great, but don’t buy something you really don’t need just because you have a coupon. Keep a running shopping list in the kitchen to add to when you use something up, and then bring it with you to the store. Check the circulars for all nearby stores before you go shopping to see who has the best sales on what’s on your list. There’s usually one store that you’ll find that generally has the lowest prices (Walmart is the one near us), so get all that you can at whatever store that is and get the rest after somewhere else nearby if you need to. Always check the nearest dollar store to see if they have what you need before paying more than a dollar elsewhere - you’d be surprised! But try not to buy food goods made in China if at all possible. Their standards aren’t high like in the US, and both pets and humans can get illnesses (or worse) from their food, unfortunately. Also compare prices online at places such as Amazon.com when you can’t find something at a good price locally, but don’t forget that shipping adds to the cost.
There are also lots of free tips online for saving money - just Google "save money tips! " Have fun while saving, and good luck!!! A penny saved is a penny earned!
There are also lots of free tips online for saving money - just Google "save money tips! " Have fun while saving, and good luck!!! A penny saved is a penny earned!
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CradleJourney
Guest
I did want to just add that if you have “organizational issues” like I do grin, it can be cheaper to do Netflix than use the library.
Our local library has a 3 day return policy for movies with a $2 a day late fee. Our Netflix dvd delivery to our home is only $11.99 a month for 2 DVD’s out at a time. For us we get better value on the netflix since we either are returning frequently (thus easily bringing the cost down to $1 or less per ‘rental’) or we take forever to return one - but no late fees (from the library 2 or 3 movies a few days late quickly surpasses the netflix cost - not including the gas back for the special trip to return it. Library isn’t far, but it isn’t on our daily commute either.) It also is a line item in our budget - so we know how much we spend on entertainment - no more/no less.
Sure - if we were going by the library almost daily AND were organized enough to reserve the movie, pick it up, watch it and return it within the three days, it would save us a little $.
Or if they changed their policy to make it a weekly loan instead of the 3 days.
But in practical application the Netflix works best with our crazy schedules since there’s no gas and no late fees involved.
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pensmama87
Guest
3 days?! Wow, we get a week for movies. If it was only 3 days I’d renew our Netflix subscription too (although around here, mail carriers don’t pick up mail, just deliver it, so you have to take outgoing mail to the post office anyway…but ours is within walking distance, at least.)I did want to just add that if you have “organizational issues” like I do grin, it can be cheaper to do Netflix than use the library.
Our local library has a 3 day return policy for movies with a $2 a day late fee. Our Netflix dvd delivery to our home is only $11.99 a month for 2 DVD’s out at a time. For us we get better value on the netflix since we either are returning frequently (thus easily bringing the cost down to $1 or less per ‘rental’) or we take forever to return one - but no late fees (from the library 2 or 3 movies a few days late quickly surpasses the netflix cost - not including the gas back for the special trip to return it. Library isn’t far, but it isn’t on our daily commute either.) It also is a line item in our budget - so we know how much we spend on entertainment - no more/no less.
Sure - if we were going by the library almost daily AND were organized enough to reserve the movie, pick it up, watch it and return it within the three days, it would save us a little $.
Or if they changed their policy to make it a weekly loan instead of the 3 days.
But in practical application the Netflix works best with our crazy schedules since there’s no gas and no late fees involved.
If you don’t care about sports, Netflix is also great as a substitute for cable.
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Zzyzx_Road
Guest
Will echo the recommendation to dump cable TV. Especially if you are not sports fans. Close to 25% of your cable bill goes to support the sports channels like ESPN, FoxSports, etc. I’m catching the World Cup at the local sports bar as I decided not to subscribe to cable when I recently moved.
The library or Netflix/Hulu for the win. Figure out which one works for you. My parents used to have a Blockbuster DVD subscription, now they just go to the library for that. Helps them too, because it’s one of many “excuses” to get out of the house.
If you don’t use the phone much, consider dumping your landline if you can. Chances are good you are paying full freight for an AT&T or Verizon POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) landline. Lots of low cost pay as you go cell phone options, this will cut your costs considerably. Considerable number of resources online for this.
Sometimes ISP/phone providers can give good deals on bundles, watch for these and be careful of the increased costs once the promotional pricing period ends.
For the knowledgeable computer geeks among you, consider recycling your old laptop(s) to run Linux rather than buying a new laptop if you find that Windows is really slow on your old laptop. Linux will run better on older laptops than Windows and this will allow you to delay purchasing new laptops. Another suggestion along these lines is to buy your laptops used. There are decent vendors on eBay for this and it beats paying retail.
Buy your cars used if you can. A good deal for those who aren’t comfortable dealing with private parties for this could be to go to big dealers who do leasing and find out what they have available that just came off a 2-, 3- or 4-year lease. These cars have to be returned to the dealer in salable condition or close to it, plus you get a basic dealership warranty.
Look into online vendors with excellent prices for things you need. Saves you gas and time in hunting down the bargains at the local stores. This should work especially well for those who live in the sticks. Though that might not sit well with those who like to get out of the house and shop!
For those in debt, get a dose of Dave Ramsey.
The library or Netflix/Hulu for the win. Figure out which one works for you. My parents used to have a Blockbuster DVD subscription, now they just go to the library for that. Helps them too, because it’s one of many “excuses” to get out of the house.
If you don’t use the phone much, consider dumping your landline if you can. Chances are good you are paying full freight for an AT&T or Verizon POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) landline. Lots of low cost pay as you go cell phone options, this will cut your costs considerably. Considerable number of resources online for this.
Sometimes ISP/phone providers can give good deals on bundles, watch for these and be careful of the increased costs once the promotional pricing period ends.
For the knowledgeable computer geeks among you, consider recycling your old laptop(s) to run Linux rather than buying a new laptop if you find that Windows is really slow on your old laptop. Linux will run better on older laptops than Windows and this will allow you to delay purchasing new laptops. Another suggestion along these lines is to buy your laptops used. There are decent vendors on eBay for this and it beats paying retail.
Buy your cars used if you can. A good deal for those who aren’t comfortable dealing with private parties for this could be to go to big dealers who do leasing and find out what they have available that just came off a 2-, 3- or 4-year lease. These cars have to be returned to the dealer in salable condition or close to it, plus you get a basic dealership warranty.
Look into online vendors with excellent prices for things you need. Saves you gas and time in hunting down the bargains at the local stores. This should work especially well for those who live in the sticks. Though that might not sit well with those who like to get out of the house and shop!
For those in debt, get a dose of Dave Ramsey.
I
Iheartcoffee
Guest
These are great!
I like to buy clothes at the thrift store. I actually found a dress that retailed for $695 but it was $9.99 at Goodwill!
I also love browsing the free section of Craigslist. I got a great bookshelf that way. Also, we built a bench from some wood that was free when someone tore out a deck!
I like to buy clothes at the thrift store. I actually found a dress that retailed for $695 but it was $9.99 at Goodwill!
I also love browsing the free section of Craigslist. I got a great bookshelf that way. Also, we built a bench from some wood that was free when someone tore out a deck!
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